Today is
Tuesday, Dec. 4, the 339th day of 2012. There are 27 days left in the year.

Highlights in History

• On
Dec. 4, 1619, a group of settlers from Bristol, England, arrived at Berkeley
Hundred in what is now Charles City County, Va., where they held a service thanking God for their
safe arrival. (Some suggest this was the true first Thanksgiving in America, ahead of the Pilgrims’
arrival in Massachusetts.)

• In
1783, Gen. George Washington bade farewell to his Continental Army officers in New
York.

• In
1942, U.S. bombers struck the Italian mainland for the first time in World War
II.

• In
1965, the United States launched Gemini 7 with Air Force Lt. Col. Frank Borman and
Navy Cmdr. James A. Lovell aboard.

• In
1978, San Francisco got its first female mayor as City Supervisor Dianne Feinstein
was named to replace the assassinated George Moscone.

• In
1991, Associated Press correspondent Terry Anderson, the longest held of the
Western hostages in Lebanon, was freed after almost seven years in captivity.

• In
1996, the Mars Pathfinder lifted off from Cape Canaveral and began a 310
million-mile odyssey to Mars.

•
Ten years ago: United Airlines lost its bid for $1.8 billion in federal loan
guarantees, a major setback in its efforts to avoid bankruptcy.

•
Five years ago: President George W. Bush said Iran was dangerous and needed to be
squeezed by international pressure despite a U.S. intelligence finding that Tehran had halted its
nuclear-weapons program four years earlier.

•
One year ago: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s party hung onto its majority in
Russia’s parliamentary election amid accusations that the vote was rigged.

Thought for Today

“Many are called but few get up.” — Oliver Herford, American author (1863-1935)